Abstract
More than 30 peroxisome biogenesis factors (peroxin) have been identified in several organisms. It has been suggested that peroxin function for various phases of peroxisome biogenesis including peroxisome assembly, protein import, and peroxisome proliferation. The Arabidopsis genome is predicted to encode about 20 proteins homologous to the yeast or mammal peroxin, but their functions remain unclear. In this study, we generated transgenic plants that were suppressed each peroxin gene expression using RNAi method and analyzed whether these homologues actually function for peroxisome biogenesis or not. In the results, Arabidopsis peroxins could be classified two groups; one group is involved in peroxisomal matrix protein import and the other defect on peroxisome morphology. Interestingly, PEX10 suppressed plant phenotype is different from wild type plant whereas other peroxin suppressed plants have same phenotype of wild type plant. Then, we analyzed the phenotype of PEX10 suppressed plant in detail and discuss novel peroxisomal functions.
